Breaking Point
by AiNoKagayaki
Summary: Helpless, all a father can do is wait. New Moon. CPOV. ONESHOT


**CPOV Note: There are 2 of them**

**Song: When you're gone by Avril Lavigne**

It had been 2 weeks since the Cullens had left Forks.

Bella had been in her room for days now. Even Renee's arrival had not cheered her up. I'd never seen my Bella so upset before and I knew it was all that Edward Cullen's fault.

The phone rang, pulling me back from my thoughts.

"Hello?" I picked up the phone. It was Billy. I contemplated his question for a moment, glancing up the stairs.

"Ok, I'll meet you at the usual spot," I put down the phone and grabbed my fishing gear.

"Bella, I'll be out for a while. I'm going fishing with Billy," I shouted up the stairs. I doubted that she had heard a word though.

With one last glance at the fully open window of Bella's bedroom, I got into my cruiser and drove away.

* * *

"Edward, we're going out to hunt for a while," I called out to my bronze-haired sun who sat still as a statue in his room. I couldn't remember when he had last moved a muscle. He didn't even seem to be breathing, not that it was necessary.

Knowing that I would get no response, I sighed and closed the door. Normally, I wouldn't have needed to say a word. My son would have been able to read my thoughts as soon as I had decided it was time to hunt again.

It was painful for all of us to see Edward so upset. Although Jasper was the most affected, we did not need his power to feel the grief and longing radiating from my first son.

The first few days, Jasper had tried to cheer Edward up but it seemed to be completely ineffective. Although I could not say that I agreed with Edward's decision to stay as far away as possible from Forks, from Bella, I respected his decision. He had always been overprotective and put others before himself. I hoped that he would eventually be able to find his happiness.

I sighed again.

"Don't worry, he'll come round, sooner or later," Esme put her pale hand to my cheek to reassure me. I could see that she wanted to believe that as much as I did.

With one last glance at Edward's closed door, I sprinted towards the forest, hand in hand with Esme.

* * *

_**I always needed time on my own**_

_**I never thought I'd **_

_**Need you there when I cried**_

_**And the days feel like years when I'm alone**_

_**And the bed where you lie has made up on your side**_

* * *

As I stepped out of the car, I could hear the chorus of a song from the open window of the second floor. It seemed that Bella had turned up the radio to its maximum volume. I felt a small bubble of hope well up in my chest. Maybe Bella had, by some divine occurrence, managed to get over that Edward boy.

I knew that was too much to hope for, but I felt that this was at least an improvement. Maybe it wouldn't be the night of the living dead for long.

Cautiously, I walked up the steps to Bella's bedroom. The door was slightly ajar and by pushing it open a crack wider, I could see Bella sitting on the bed, facing the radio.

The voice of a female singer streamed from the radio.

* * *

I lifted my teeth from the half-drained deer in my hands and looked towards the direction of the house. My ears must have been deceiving me.

"Do you here that?" I turned to Esme who look just as confused as I did. Her face seemed to light up slightly as an impossible hope formed in us.

Hastily finishing the last of my dear, Esme and I raced back. Our vampiric speed brought us back to the house in seconds.

As clearly as it had been to my unnaturally sharp ears from the forest, a slow, sad song was coming from Edward's bedroom.

It had been 2 weeks since music had been heard within these walls. The grand piano in the living room lay untouched as the family's musician had fallen into a depression.

I didn't let myself get carried away by this small change. I knew it was too much to hope for that Edward had gone back to normal, but I felt that this was at least an improvement.

A second later, I was standing outside Edward's bedroom door. I carefully turned the doorknob and peered into the room of my bronze-haired son. He was sitting on the floor, facing the radio.

The mellow voice of a female singer streamed from the radio, echoing through the room.

* * *

_**When you walk away **_

_**I count the steps that you take**_

_**Do you see how much I need you right now**_

_**When you're gone**_

_**The pieces of my heart are missing you**_

_**When you're gone**_

_**The face I came to know is missing too**_

_**When you're gone**_

_**The words I need to hear to always get me through the day**_

_**And make it okay**_

_**I miss you**_

* * *

I felt the small bubble of hope burst almost immediately. Bella looked as skeletal and pale as ever. Her face was contorted into a look of pain, it reminded me of the day she was found in the woods.

Her eyes were wide and staring at the radio, as if she was scared yet could not look away. Her hands were wrapped tightly around herself, as if she was hugging herself, or keeping herself from falling apart.

Nothing had improved, if anything, it was worse. She seemed afraid of the music, I could see her cringing every so often, but too hypnotized to turn it off. It was as if she was under a spell.

The song reached its second verse.

* * *

I should have known that it was too much to hope for. I might not be as perceptive as Jasper, but even I could see that Edward was worse than before. His face was not the smooth and emotionless marble like the last 2 weeks, but was contorted into an expression so filled with pain and disgust that I would take expressionless marble any day.

He sat, still as a statue, hypnotized by the music coming from the radio, seemingly oblivious to my presence.

The song reached its second verse.

* * *

_**I never felt this way before**_

_**Everything that I do reminds me of you**_

_**And the clothes that you left that lie on my floor**_

_**And they smell just like you**_

_**I love the things that you do**_

_**When you walk away **_

_**I count the steps that you take**_

_**Do you see how much I need you right now**_

_**When you're gone**_

_**The pieces of my heart are missing you**_

_**When you're gone**_

_**The face I came to know is missing too**_

_**When you're gone**_

_**The words I need to here to always get me through the day**_

_**And make it okay**_

_**I miss you**_

* * *

She was rocking slightly now. The tears at the corner of her eyes threatened to spill over as she swayed from front to back.

I contemplated walking in there and switching the radio off, but did not want a repeat of last week's scene.

She was whispering something to herself, the music was too loud for me to hear what she was mumbling.

The song was nearing its end.

* * *

I didn't know how much of this I could take.

If I still had a heart, I'm sure it would have broken into a million tiny pieces.

If I could still cry, my cheeks would be wet with tears.

The sight of my son sitting alone in his room, the sad song of a farewell playing at its maximum volume would be too much for anyone, let alone a being with a heightened sense of compassion.

Edward seemed to be twitching now.

The song was nearing its end.

* * *

_**We were made for each other **_

_**Out here forever **_

_**I know we were**_

_**And all I ever wanted was for you to know**_

_**Everything I do I give my heart and soul**_

_**I can't breathe**_

_**I need to feel you here with me**_

_**When you're gone **_

_**The pieces of my heart are missing you**_

_**When you're gone**_

_**The face I came to know is missing too**_

_**When you're gone**_

_**The words I need to here to always get me through the day**_

_**And make it okay**_

_**I miss you**_

* * *

There was a pause. Then, Bella nearly tripped over herself in a mad rush to slam the button on the radio. The music came to an end.

Already past her limit, Bella curled up into a ball on the floor.

Unable to watch in silence, I stepped into the room.

Putting my arms around her, I could feel that she was cold. As cold as ice. As cold as that Edward's heart had been when he cruelly left my daughter alone in the woods and left without a warning.

Now that I was closer, and the room was silent, I could here the silent chant that she was mumbling.

"_He doesn't want you… He doesn't want you… He doesn't want you…"_

I didn't know how much more of this I could take.

All a father could do was wait.

* * *

The second the song ended, I heard a loud banging sound. I could see a small dent, about the size of a human finger, on the power button of the radio.

Edward seemed to pause for a fraction of a second, then stood up abruptly.

As he turned towards the door, he blinked at me a few times, as if awakening from a daze. This was probably the first time that I, or anyone, had managed to spy on him without his awareness which came with his mind-reading abilities.

"Go," I whispered to him.

He gave a swift nod and a second later, I could hear the sound of a car driving off.

I had never felt so helpless. All a father could do was wait.


End file.
